The UK has frozen aid funding to Zambia, after its government admitted that $4.3m (£3.3m) meant for poor families had gone missing.

The move follows allegations of corruption within President Edgar Lungu’s administration.

The UK takes a “zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption”, the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) said in a statement.
Ireland, Finland and Sweden have also suspended aid.

More than 50% of Zambia’s 17 million people live below the poverty line, the World Bank says.

The aid freeze by the UK is believed to affect the education, health and nutrition sectors, as well as social cash transfers for the poorest Zambians.

Source: BBC